Cape Cod Fishing Report - January 25, 2018

It’s a good news/bad news kinda week on Cape Cod. The bad news is, you can put your tip-ups and augers away for now. The good news is, you can break out the bass rods and trout spoons.

There are some cold nights in the forecast, but not enough to put fishable ice back on the ponds, as there are more days with temperatures above 40 degrees along with more rain in the forecast. Tuesday’s torrential downpour took care ice all around the Cape, opening many ponds back to casting.

While the equipment may change, the best bait will not. A shiner is your best bet for action right now. Suspend one a couple feet below a bobber for a shot at pickerel, bass, and jumbo perch. Though it would make sense that the best time of day to fish would be in the early afternoon, when temperatures reach their peak, the bass, perch, and pickerel seem to bite best just before sundown. In past years, during a January Thaw, the action lit up an hour before sunset, and we ran out of shiners well before it became full dark.

In the brackish ponds, white perch are biting once again. The bite is a little slower than it was before the freeze, but slowing down your presentation and using small jigs will keep them biting. Small shiners or grass shrimp under a bobber are another good way to catch the white perch.

Fishing Forecast for the Weekend

Get on some open water and swim some shiners for bass and pickerel. Trout should also be hitting if you can find a shoreline free of ice. We may be finished ice fishing on the Cape this winter, at least judging by the 10-day forecast, but there is plenty of ice out west to get on. Be sure to check Ron’s Massachusetts Report to find out what’s happening on the hardwater.